1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel liquid crystal compound and a method of manufacturing the same and, more particularly, to a ferroelectric liquid crystal compound which can exhibit chiral smectic C phase and a method of manufacturing the same. The present invention also relates to a liquid crystal composition containing such a liquid crystal compound, and a liquid crystal display device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Liquid crystals are widely used as the best display material for small flat panel display devices such as portable calculators and time pieces. Recently, liquid crystals are also used in automobile displays and personal computer displays. In addition, liquid crystals have now begun to be used in moving image displays such as small liquid crystal television sets.
Twisted nematic liquid crystals are conventionally used in portable calculators, time pieces, and the like. In display systems using these liquid crystals, however, a response speed is unsatisfactory, and cross-talk is produced. Therefore, it is difficult to apply these liquid crystals to displays such as large screen displays which must have a high response speed.
In order to solve the above problems, a display system such as an active matrix display system using a thin film transistor has been developed. However, a manufacturing cost of devices adopting such a display system is high.
For these reasons, as a display system capable of replacing the display system using twisted nematic liquid crystals, a display system using a ferroelectric liquid crystal was reported by R. B. Mayer et al. in 1975 and has attracted a great deal of attention. This display system has a higher response speed than those of the conventional systems, and a memory effect. Ferro electric liquid crystals used in this system must have a chiral smectic C phase. A number of such ferroelectric liquid crystals are conventionally known.
The conventional ferroelectric liquid crystals are, however, unstable with respect to moisture in air or light, and have narrow temperature ranges within which chiral smectic C phase appears. Therefore, applications of these liquid crystals are limited.